By Business & Finance 
Mary Van Lieshout, Goal; Elaine Weidman Grunewald, Global VP for Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility, Ericsson; Darren Ryan, Social Entrepreneurs Ireland; Emer Coleman, chairperson, Open Data Governance Board; Karlin Lillington, panel moderator
Ericsson Ireland today hosted the latest Connecting Women in Technology (CWIT) Seminar at Dublin Castle which saw over 400 women and men working in the technology sector in Ireland take part in networking, workshops and panel discussions.
Speaking at the Technology for Good event, Elaine Weidman-Grunewald the Global VP of Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility at Ericsson Group said: “At Ericsson we are committed to supporting the advancement of women in our company. As with some of our peers in the industry, we want to shed light on the importance of women in ICT, and work collaboratively to do something about it. If we are serious about bridging the digital divide, connecting the next billion and engaging women in ICT, empowering women must be prioritised as part of our own strategies.
Like most technology companies, Ericsson is focused on improving its own operations but also on how its products and services can be used to address issues such as poverty, development, climate change and human rights. “Technology for Good is the concept we work with every day to address climate change, education, health, humanitarian issues, human rights and the effects of poverty,” Weidman-Grunewald said. “Two years ago, we set the objective to positively impact the lives of 2.5 million people through our Technology for Good programmes by 2016. In fact, we have reached more like 20 million people with programmes such as Connect to Learn, Refunite and Ericsson Response, to name a few.”
Elaine Weidman-Grunewald was the key note speaker at the event which also saw presentations from Emer Coleman, chairperson, Open Data Governance Board; Darren Ryan, CEO, Social Entrepreneurs Ireland; Mary Van Lieshout – Global Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning advisor, GOAL and Zelia Madigan, managing director, Ericsson Ireland.
Discussions at the event centred on changing the way we live, work and do business by creating new communities, engaging across boundaries and making the world a more inclusive place.
Ericsson Ireland’s MD, Zelia Madigan added: “Technology plays an important role in empowering all across society. Ericsson has always empowered women through technology. From the very beginning, which happens to be 140 years ago this year, Lars Magnus Ericsson our founder, when overseas, had his wife Hilda take charge of the company. This spirit continues today where our vision is a networked society, where every person and every industry is empowered to reach their full potential.”
